text:
I'll admit that reading books about saving money and budgeting ranks in my mind right above going to the dentist. But, frankly, I was looking for someone to tell me we could have a great Christmas season without spending a lot of money. At 122 pages, the book was a quick read.
Keep the Happy in Your Holidays is broken down into 21 tips, beginning with a pledge to make it a debt-free Christmas. That's not a hard one for us; we operate on a cash-only basis. From advice on what is really a good deal on Black Friday (Tip #4) to creative ideas for gifts that cost $5 or less (Tip #11), the e-book is full of practical ideas for a variety of situations and scenarios related to the holiday season, including gift giving, travel and even wrapping presents.
My favorite tip was Tip #9: Cultivate a Culture of Contentment in Your Kids. I want my kids to have happy memories of Christmastime and I don't believe that money = memories. Cherie offers these suggestions:
- Begin with a thankful list (instead of a list of wants).
- Conduct an ongoing discussion about wants and needs.
- Invest in your child's faith.
- Serve together. This is on my list of to do's this holiday season.
- Ask for or give experiences. Maybe Grandma would like to pay for a few months of piano lessons?
- Set limits. In our house, Santa brings 3 gifts and a stocking and mom & dad give 1 gift for each kid. We've done this since Annie's second Christmas, so our kids are used to it.
- Reflect what you want to see. Cherie writes "If we are worried, hurried, or frazzled, we shouldn't be surprised if they [our kids] are too. If we are consumed with our desire for the next big thing or are constantly dissatisfied, then they will be too."
Nowhere in the book does Cherie tell you what to do. She gives suggestions and examples of strategies that worked to help Cherie and her husband pay off $127,000 in debt in just four years. The e-book includes several free printables, including printable gift tags. She also does a nice job gently circling the reader back to the real reason for the Christmas season.
Readers of Keep the Happy in Your Holidays also get the introduction and first chapter of Cherie's book, Slaying the Debt Dragon, which tells the Lowe's story of battling their mountain of debt and the lessons they learned along the way. That book will be available in bookstores in early January 2015.
How to get the books:
How to get the books:
- You can get both Keep the Happy in Your Holidays and Slaying the Debt Dragon on Amazon. If you use the links in this post to make your purchase, I'll get a few cents from your purchase.
- Beginning December 1, if you pre-order Slaying the Debt Dragon (available in paperback and e- book), you'll get a copy of Keep the Happy in Your Holidays for FREE.
To learn more about the books and hear what others have said about them, visit the book website.


text:
A paramedic with Tourette's Syndrome is forced to come to terms with his life and condition when he falls in love with a single mother who has ties to his past.
A despondent tattoo artist's life is changed forever when he makes a house call to a dying woman's bedside. In the precious time remaining, she fights to revive his art, spirit and life.
A delusional homeless woman and a young drug dealer have to help each other to recover the money from a drug deal gone bad. In the process, they save each others' lives.
In an unforgiving wilderness, a reformed hunter tracks a vicious killer who may have kidnapped his daughter
Michael Albanese, "McCleskey"
Alex J Ankrom, "Castles Made of Sand"
Mark Arament, "Death Valley Homecoming"
Steven Arvanites, "Impression"
Chris Bessounian & Tianna A Langham, "Guns and Saris"
Nancy C Bilyeau, "Zenobia"
Robert W Bowden, "A Child Of Our Time"
Kevin S Brodie, "Season of Mists"
William H Bryant, "Before the Fall"
Rebecca N Bryant and William H Bryant, "Ross"
Stephan Vladimir Bugaj, "Welcome To Akron"
Ryan D Cannon, "The Hanging Man"
Richard L Carr, "A Tru Fairytale"
Tristan Carrasco, "The Prayer"
Soo-Hyun Chung, "Groupie"
Alexander Davidson, "Riding a Rocket Ship Into the Sun"
Alexander Davidson, "May the Devil Be Kinder"
Jack Davidson, "The Great Sign"
Gabriel de Jesus, "Wraith"
Jenny Deller, "Future Weather"
Clifford M Deller, "Break - The George Fullerton Story"
Matthew Dessem & Adam Price, "Good Humor"
Matthew Dessem & Adam Price, "The Conquered"
Lauri Donahue, "Whiplash"
Eirene F Donohue, "Stand Up Straight"
John Dummer, "The Moonbeam Fisherman"
Allan L Durand, "Willie Francis Must Die Again"
Alvin F Easter, "The Venetian Equivalency"
Bobak Esfarjani, "The Water Tower"
C.M. Ferguson, "The Last Trip"
Matthew E Fox, "The River of Life and Death"
Wade Gasque, "Half Truth"
Lisa M Gold, "The Poker Wars"
Todd Goodlett, "Friend of the Devil"
Kristin Gosney, "Manhandled"
Andrea Hardie, "Dakota Bound"
Deb Havener, "Midnight Swing"
Scott Hawthorne, "Rigged"
Jonathan Hawtrey Clark, "The Binary Man"
Jane K Henderson, "The Toll at Forked River"
Tania R James, "Mattie, or Mathilda"
Jordan Jennings, "The Honeysuckle Jubilee"
Nicolle C Jones, "Nickel & Dime"
Nancy Joseph, "No Reflection"
Brad Kane, "The Yarrow King"
Michael Kinney, "Skyjacked"
David Kosh, "Grand Cru"
Michael J LaCombe, "Shockwaves"
Malcolm A Lawson, "Blackout"
Thomas N LeBlanc, "Nauts of the Astros"
Robert E Maloney, "The Sensational Count Guitarcula"
Chris Mandia, "Outside The Wire"
Daniel J Marshall, "Tigg"
Steve Martinez, "The Geritol Gang"
Nicholas M May & Brandon E Reavis, "Overcome"
Rebekah M McDaniel, "Kingdom of Daylight"
Mike K McGeever, "Rough Justice"
Rob Meyer & Luke Matheny, "A Birder's Guide to Everything"
Ryan D Miles, "Big Smile"
Kevin L Miller, "Mother's Day"
Timothy Miller, "Six Characters in Search of a Killer"
Mark A Moody, "Land of Lincoln"
Cathryn J Morris, "Bleeding Kansas"
Clark E Morrow, "Shot"
Matthew A Nelson, "The Adversary"
George R Nicholis, "Holmes"
Jeffrey R Norton, "Woodland"
Sohrab Noshirvani & Rory J H Haines, "Among The Dead"
Andrew Pritzker, "Her White Wedding"
Matthew B Raffa, "A Dying Sun"
Daniel Ragussis, "Freud"
Tamuira M Reid, "Luna's Highway"
Andrew Rothschild, "Sequoia National Park"
Andrew Rothschild, "The Hitler Family Reunion"
Sarah M Rothschild, "Most Likely To"
April Rouveyrol, "American Child"
James W Russo, "The Great Billington Booze Heist"
Alex K Schemmer, "The Furies"
Michael Schock, "Morrigan"
Arthur Schurr, "Coal Hard Cash"
Paul V Seetachitt, "Cancerland"
Todd M Serlin, "Represent!"
Gene F Smith, "The Pursued"
Jack Sommars, "Semper Fi, Sugar"
Anthony Sommo, "This Year's Game"
Ricky Staub & Dan J Walser, "A Whisper Against the Madness"
Joel B Strunk, "Anatomy of the Tide"
Mark Tachovsky, "The Story of A Simple Man"
Stephan Talty, "Nightingale Fever"
Kay J Tuxford & Prarthana Mohan, "Whore"
Kerry Valderrama, "Memories of a Hundred"
Debra A Vance, "The Secret Sex Life of Sister Janie Dare"
Evette Vargas, "Kingnapped"
Michael Ventre, "Starlight Falls"
Louise M Wadley, "She Sells Seashells by the Seashore"
Brian M Warshawsky, "A Man of Florence"
Andy Watts, "Massachusetts"
J. Nicholas Weber, "Be Something"
Michael Werwie, "What's Ailing Spencer Frayley"
Michael J Wightman, "Indian Summer"
Alan T Williamson, "Cardboard Cowboys"
James S Windeler, "Sweet Little Lies"
Douglas H Wolfe, "Murder in Auschwitz"
Lisa L Worth, "The Frankincense Tree"
Joseph R Abisso, "The Death of Christopher Marlowe"
Kevin L Adkins, "Red Medicine"
James P Allen, "The Toy Stealer"
Alexander D Allrich, "Forger"
Matthew J Altman, "The Last Age of Heroes"
Leonard F Anderson IV, "Gut Hook"
John A Arlotto, "Unretired"
Zac Atkinson, "Finding Normal"
Victoria Augustine, "The Audition"
Andrew W Badeker, "Tallgrass"
William E Baer, "Three Generations of Imbeciles"
John R Baker, "Zombie Xmas"
Dan R Barton, "Broomstick"
Dan R Barton, "Ladies and Gentlemen, John Wilkes Booth"
Pamela K Basey, "Boogie-Napped"
Matthew T Bell, "Lighthouse"
Jessica Bennett, "Figment"
Jeff Beres, "Bumma"
Darren Bevill, "Appetites"
Gary Bickal, "Racing the Dead"
Melissa A Birks, "Uncaged"
Matthew L Blackburn, "The Janitor"
Macon Blair, "Summer Villains"
Tony Boland, "Sleeping Beauty"
Katrina J Bouza, "Helen's Daughters"
Adriana Brad Schanen, "Podium"
Michelle Brooks, "Minus One"
Ana N Brown, "How Do We Look?"
Molly Brown Pennington, "Rashae Likes Me (Somehow)"
Ryan J Buckley, "To Kill an Angel"
David Buik, "To Die in Iraq"
Sameer Butt & Loren-Paul Caplin, "Off Duty"
Timothy D Cairo, "Born Again"
Stephen P Callen, "Down Under"
Andy Cannistra, "Army Ants"
Janet R Cassels, "The Mischlinge"
Daniel R Cauterucci, "Verdugo (The Executioner)"
Marissa J Cerar, "Conversion"
Deborah Chesebro & Tyson FitzGerald, "Prom Queen"
Susan S Chiu, "Say Uncle"
Susan S Chiu, "Re/Surfacing"
Rachel Conard, "Things Said in Bed"
Jennifer A Connell, "Playing House"
Thomas Connors, "Here and There"
Brandie Coonis, "The Wings of Dr. Oddvar"
David W Cooper, "Promy: A Gorilla's Tale"
Michael C Costner, "Devil's Lake"
Elizabeth R Cotone, "Madame Curie"
John M D'Arco, "Barely Lethal"
Michael T Daniel, "A Circle In The Water"
Jeffrey R Davis, "A Simple Man With a Simple Plan"
Jeffrey R Davis, "Boys In Red"
Patrick L DeLeon, "The Cosgrove Conspiracy"
Ted W Dewberry, "The Last Meal Project"
Paul M DeWolf, "Seventy-Three"
Katelynn E Dey, "Red Light Go"
Anthony A Dodd, "White Knuckle Roads"
Michael Donegan, "The Mighty Force"
Emiliana M Dore & Adrienne Lusby, "Interstate"
Andrew Duncan, "My Name Is Bob"
Adam C Dunlop-Farkas, "The Mad Ones"
Chad Edwards, "The Valley of Kings"
Christine Ellis, "Star X + Debris"
Brooks Elms & Glenn Sanders, "Wright or Wrong"
Leigh F Emshey, "Pribe City"
Chandler Evans, "The Adventures of Kid Quick"
Marquis J Ewing, "The Descent of Man and Other Unpredictable Journeys"
Matthew Fantaci, "Lights! Camera! Mrs. Miller!"
Jeffrey R Field, "Hoosier Daddy"
Jason Fischer, "Jealous Guys"
Emiliano M Flores, "The Exterminating Angel"
Glenn Forbes, "The Future Prime"
Justin C Foster, "Arrival Unknown"
Jason Fraley, "Cinemagic"
Jacqueline A Frazier, "Number 8 Wire"
Jesse Freedman & Danny Belinkie, "Ironically, Of Course"
Nancy D Froeschle, "Blood of the Lamb"
Shariya Lynn Frye & Christopher Beau Johnson, "Grey Matter"
Grainne M Godfree, "Blood and Ivory"
Irina Goundortseva, "Dog Club"
Markus Griesshammer, "Bellwether"
Kimberly E Griffin, "Johnson's Hill"
Jonathan R Groom, "Hayseed"
Tilton Hack, "You Must Remember This"
Cynthia Irene Hagan, "The Disappearance of Daniel Klein"
Jacob S Hall, "George Builds a Time Machine"
Julian Harker, "Rules to Live By"
Patrick T Hasson, "Blood Shed"
Carolyn Haywood, "Coonbone"
Gavin B Heffernan, "Fraudster"
Michelle Herrin, "Acts of Obedience"
Shannon Hile & Richard Eden, "How Not to Bury Your Mother"
Andrew C Hiss, "The Sun King of Eastbook, Maine"
Michele E Hogan, "Kelly's Bar"
Ricki Holmes, "There Is No Second"
John D Howell, "The Authentic History of the Terrible Harpes"
Chris Howlett, "Rogue Element"
Winston H Huff, "Mammalian Advocate"
Ryan R Jackson, "Fix"
Judy Johns, "Merlin's Prophecy"
Gregory Johnson, "Dead Son"
Kranti Kanade & Sagar Haveli, "Against Itself"
Montana Kane, "Isabel Kowalski Rides the 36 Broadway Bus"
Les Kanekuni, "Mr. Christian"
Scott Kassel, "Hands of Freedom"
Clete C Keith, "Ginormous"
Dylan Kilgour, "Hackettstown"
Kyle Kinsella, "Just My Imagination"
Andrejs Kovalovs, "Antipode"
Ulvrik S Kraft, "Silent Night"
Carolyn Kras, "Magnetic"
Steven G Labeille, "Haddegon Tails"
Michael J LaCombe, "Anvil"
Jenée N LaMarque, "The Pretty One"
David C Lambertson, "The Last Statesman"
Kurt Larson, "My Life Is A Corporation"
Richard J LeBlanc Jr., "Strobelight"
Elizabeth Lee, "Krismas Island"
Larry Leinoff, "Loose Ends"
Gregory Lind, "The Butcher Is Crazy"
Danny Llewelyn, "Adversary"
Silka Luisa, "Keep Them Close"
Andre Lyon, "Piety"
Travis Maruska, "Prison One"
Jason May, "Lone Star and Stripes"
Trevor L McCall, "Broken Vessels"
Chris McKee, "Naked in the City of Heroes"
Kevin McKeever, "The Last Knight"
Veronica McKenzie, "Nine Nights"
Svetlana V McShane, "The Birch Swingers"
Russ Meyer, "Jenna's Gone"
Dinah D Miller, "The Chameleon of Camerone"
Andrew Miller, "Paradise Limited"
Suneeta S Millington & Emily T Sztabzyb, "Mother India"
Arlene E Monnier, "The Bird, The Bull and The Fistulated Cow"
Jeff Moonie Jr., "Power: The Seven Day Theory"
Donald R Moore, "The Regular Heavens"
William Moran, "Racing a Ghost"
Lewaa Nasserdeen, "The Star Kingdom"
Nancy Noever, "Words of War"
David O'Leary, "Disappearance"
Matt O'Reilly, "Warlord"
Ung G Park, "Forever"
Perry H Patterson, "LSOF"
Jason Patti, "Coordinates for Unhinging"
Paul Peditto, "Skin Deep"
Shannon E Pestock, "Flesh and Blood"
Joseph M Petrick, "Exploder"
Bradley A Pontecore & Mitch Levine, "Back of the Yards"
Andrew Pritzker, "Iced"
David W Radcliff, "Learning to Stand"
Jacqueline Radley, "Thicker Than Blood"
Chris Raymond, "Daughter of Heaven"
Adam S Reuben, "Surviving the Fall"
Alveraz Ricardez, "The Fall Of Shadows"
Kenneth W Richards, "Peace On Earth (and goodwill to all men)"
Jenna Ricker & Greg Stuhr, "Security"
Patrick J Rodio, "Union"
Sarah M Rothschild, "Side Effects May Include"
James W Russo, "The Saints of Brooksville"
Samantha Ryan, "Flight World"
Ramesh S Santanam, "Our Enemies"
Elizabeth Savage Sullivan, "Splitting Shadows"
Erica L Schreiber, "Ariel"
Hugh Scott & Aaron Stanford, "Bruce & Mitchell"
Paul V Seetachitt, "Heist: A Documentary"
Lizz-Ayn Shaarawi, "Iris of the Garden"
Stacie A Shellner, "Release"
Jeff Shevlowitz, "Do No Harm"
R. Ian Simpson, "Below the Waist"
Anita J Skibski, "Mine"
Henderson Smith, "The Ugly Princess"
Tyler Lee Spangler, "Love And War"
Jon Stahl, "How to Save America Without Really Trying"
Eric Stein & Michael S Bandy, "White Water"
Kimberly M Stewart, "Hazel"
Stephan R Stinson, "The Middle of Everywere"
Addison Stofle-Anderson, "The Robust Enhanced Alternative"
Jennifer June Strawn, "A Sea Like Glass"
Douglas J Summers, "Washington Circle"
Joshua K Susie, "The Elysian Bow"
Joseph Swanson, "Fergie The Ferocious"
William A Tanner Jr., "Solace"
Max J Taxe, "Goodbye, Felix Chester"
David S Teodosio Jr., "Little Red Dot"
Erica Thomas, "The Resurrection"
F Delano R Thompson Jr., "The Time Killers"
Thomas Tieche, "In My Country"
Richard Tillotson, "Mandalay"
John Todd, "Circle of Fire"
Jeff Trently & Tony Stitt, "Chances"
John E Uth, "Moon Camp"
Chris Velasco, "The Last Noel"
Paul Vicknair & Chris Shafer, "The Saboteurs"
Dominika Waclawiak, "In from the Cold"
Benjamin A Wagner, "Baja"
David M Warnock, "Runaway Colt"
James Watts, "Beckwourth"
Matthew Wedge, "A Man of No Consequence"
Richmond Weems, "Inhuman Resources"
Ryan Wellington, "Bang, Bang, Pop"
Charles J Whitesell, "Salamander Dali"
Alan T Williamson, "Nunley"
Wenonah E Wilms, "Nest"
Wenonah E Wilms, "Sleeping With the Lutefisk"
Kevin C Wilson, "Down By One - A Little League Story"
Jeffrey A Wright, "Vanished"
Cody Yarbrough, "River Road"
Joshua P Yonkin, "The Roselands"
Phil G Yuhas, "The Crockettville Kid"
Roland L Zaleski, "The Omega Lottery"
Lillian A Zvanovec, "Tii and the Kingdom of Lost Objects"

subset: commoncrawl


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House Democrats subpoena Pompeo for documents on Biden's son
WASHINGTON - The House Foreign Affairs Committee has subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for documents he turned over to a Senate panel that is investigating Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said Friday he had issued the subpoena as part an investigation into Pompeo's "apparent use of Department of State resources to advance a political smear of former Vice President Joe Biden."
The subpoena demands all of the records that the department has turned over to Republican-led Senate committees that are investigating Hunter Biden's work for a gas company in Ukraine while his father was vice president. It also asks for internal department emails about responding to Congress. The committee says Pompeo had delivered more than 16,000 pages of records to the Senate but refused to send the same materials to the Democrat-led House.
"Secretary Pompeo has turned the State Department into an arm of the Trump campaign and he's not even trying to disguise it," Engel said in a statement announcing the suboena, which demands the materials by next week.
The subpoena represents another escalation in an election-year battle between Democrats and the GOP Senate committees investigating Hunter Biden. Democrats have criticized Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., in particular for his probe of Hunter Biden and the gas company, Burisma. They say Johnson's probe is amplifying Russian propaganda, a charge he denies.
There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, and Hunter Biden has denied using his influence with his father to aid Burisma.
House and Senate Democratic leaders sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray last month, saying they are concerned that Congress appears to be the target of a "concerted foreign interference campaign" to influence the 2020 presidential election. The letter, which did not mention Johnson or his committee by name, asked Wray for an all-members, classified briefing on the matter before the August recess.
Wray hasn't yet offered the requested briefing, but lawmakers did receive a classified briefing early Friday on general election security. Leaving that meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she is concerned "the American people should be better informed."
The president's efforts to have Ukraine investigate Hunter Biden's role as a board member for Burisma were at the heart of House Democrats' impeachment probe last year. Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the Bidens on a July 2019 phone call that was later revealed by a whistleblower's complaint.
The House impeached Trump in December for pressuring the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation while withholding military aid to the country. The Senate acquitted him in February.
The new efforts by Democrats come as the nation's intelligence agencies, congressional intelligence committees and Joe Biden have all warned of renewed election interference by Russia this year. Trump himself has been loath to discuss the subject or acknowledge that Russia tried to sow discord in the 2016 contest by hacking Democratic accounts and pushing out inflammatory content on social media.
Still, his administration has warned that Russia and other countries will likely try again. In a statement last week, William Evanina, the government's chief counterintelligence official, said adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran are seeking to compromise U.S. private communications and infrastructure in campaigns. It also warned of disinformation campaigns on social media.
Democrats said the statement didn't go far enough, and have pushed for more information on the meddling to be public. They have also sought to bring attention to their apparent concerns about the Senate investigations while declining to talk in specifics because much of the information is classified.
On Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee voted to make a classified attachment to the letter detailing their concerns about interference available for review by members of the House. In a transcript the committee released of that closed meeting, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he has "the same concerns today" as he did in 2016 that Russians were working to disrupt American elections.
"I believe today, as I did then, that any effort to interfere in elections must be deterred, disrupted, and exposed, because complacency will further erode the basic precept underlying our democracy, that Americans alone must decide American elections," Schiff said.
At the same meeting, Democrats asked the panel's top Republican, California Rep. Devin Nunes, whether he had received a package of information from Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach and whether he would share it with Democrats. Derkach is a member of Ukraine's parliament who has promoted unsubstantiated claims against the Bidens.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., said "committee staff is in possession of evidence that a package was received."
Asked by Schiff if he would respond to Maloney's question, Nunes said "no."
Nunes said the Democrats' letter on election interference was a political exercise.
He said the classified attachment "focuses entirely on Russia while ignoring potential election meddling by any other nations."


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The Last Temptation
Nothing makes purity more interesting than temptation. This applies to ideological purity just as much as the physical sort. As a libertarian, my greatest temptation to call for government action comes when I deal, as a retailer, with Visa and Mastercard (V/MC).
This post is not a call for government action, so I guess I am resisting temptation. But I at least need to vent, sort of like a monk pounding his head on the wall after getting the Victoria's Secret catalog in the mail. So here is my rant.
First, let's start with how credit card companies make their money. I will confess that I do not know how the card companies (V/MC) and the card processors (often large banks) split the take, so this is how they make money together. V/MC and the processors charge fees to merchants. Typically this is a fixed fee per transaction plus a percentage. On average, a merchant might be paying 2.5-3.5% of a transaction. The card companies also make money from card holders, charging annual fees, interest fees, etc.
You will have seen of late that most credit cards offer various loyalty programs, from airline miles to cash rebates. You might have thought those were marketing expenses paid by the credit card companies. Wrong. The card companies simply charge merchants a higher fee for processing transactions using these cards. In a sense, the card companies have organized with card users to use their power to extract extra value from merchants.
All of this I can generally live with. Visa and MasterCard, through both their credit facility and their implicit standardization, bring enormous value to retailers and customers. Its a big circular game anyway -- customers get 1% back and think they are getting a deal, merchants pay this extra 1% in fees, and then add it into the price of what they are selling. It's a wash, except to the extent that customers with reward cards in the end extract a bit of value from customers who pay cash (for reasons explained below).
For this value one must accept the typically arrogant and indifferent customer service provided by any monopoly (American Express is particularly awful to deal with as a retailer). But they are no worse to deal with than the government, so its unclear how the government could make the service any better.
What tends to tick me off, though, are rules and restrictions. Like the creeping work rules in the UAW contract, these are in many ways more insidious than the service and pricing. Here is what set me off today, from one of my card processors (in this case Bank of America, which, to be fair, is someone I would recommend for merchant account processing). Click to enlarge.
So, why are businesses breaking these rules so often? Let's take a look:
- No minimum transaction. Remember that V/MC charges a minimum fee, from 10-40 cents or so, per transaction. So if someone buys a pack of gum in our store, likely 100% of the sales price is going to V/MC. Typically it takes at least a one dollar total sale for there to be any money left over beyond paying cost of goods sold and the credit card folks. So merchants logically want to set a minimum. V/MC hates this practice, but it is rampant. I plead the fifth on our own practices.
- Surcharging. Credit card customers cost more than cash customers. Sure, we get some non-sufficient funds checks, but the eventual cost of these is nowhere near 2.5% of sales. Merchants logically don't like having their cash customers having to subsidize the frequent flyer rewards of their credit customers. However, unlike transaction minimums, card processors have mostly been able to drive out cash discounts.
- Requiring ID and Fraudulent Transactions. I will take these two together, since they are so ironic one after the other. V/MC is telling merchants that they can't check ID, which is the only reasonable approach to limiting fraud, but that they can't submit fraudulent transactions. You say that the text says "known fraudulent?" Well, read on --
To the latter point, I think most people assume that the credit card companies are absorbing the fraud, which is how they justify the fees they charge. Wrong again. Credit card companies only absorb credit risk. Over the last 10+ years, they have pushed fraud back on the retailer. If a consumer claims fraud on his card with some transaction, then the credit card company refunds the customer and takes the money from the merchant unless the retailer can absolutely prove he made delivery to the consumer personally (which he can't prove because he can't check identification) . Merchants bear the cost of fraud, not card companies. Which I could accept (since I have more ability than the card companies to control fraud) expect the card companies ban me from controlling fraud. So I have to take financial responsibility for something I am not allowed to prevent. And that really ticks me off.
Anyway, maybe someday we can organize a large merchant boycott, where, even for a day, we all refuse to accept Visa and Mastercard. Of course we would be breaking the rules, because that is not allowed by our V/MC agreement.
Postscript: I suspect that a few retailers with some power are starting to crack this, at least for themselves. Costco only takes American Express. Sams Club only take one card (MC, I think). My guess is that both, with their large size, bargained for exclusivity in exchange for concessions on fees and/or terms.
Postscript #2: I expect comments like, "Well so-and-so always makes me show an ID." I don't doubt you. I am merely saying that by doing so, they have either negotiated an exception to the V/MC agreement (very unlikely, as V/MC holds to these rules like the Maginot Line) or the retailer is breaking the rules.


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You can have Chrome save your passwords for different sites.
Learn more about how Chrome protects your passwords.
If you enter a new password on a site, Chrome will ask to save it. To accept, click Save.
- To see the password that will be saved, click Preview .
- If there are multiple passwords on the page, click the Down arrow . Choose the password you want saved.
- If your username is blank or incorrect, click the text box next to "Username." Enter the username you want saved.
- If you want to save a different password, click the text box next to "Password." Enter the password you want saved.
Sign in with a saved password
If you saved your password to Chrome on a previous visit to a website, Chrome can help you sign in.
- On your computer, go to a site you've visited before.
- Go to the site's sign-in form.
- If you've saved a single username and password for the site: Chrome will fill in the sign-in form automatically.
- If you've saved more than one username and password: Select the username field and choose the sign-in info you want to use.
Show, edit, delete, or export saved passwords
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click Profile Passwords .
- Show, edit, delete, or export a password:
- Show: To the right of the website, click Show password . If you lock your computer with a password, you'll be prompted to enter your computer password.
- Edit: To the right of the website, click More Edit password.
- Delete: To the right of the website, click More Remove.
- Export: To the right of "Saved Passwords," click More Export passwords.
To clear all your saved passwords, clear browsing data and select "Passwords."
Start or stop saving passwords
By default, Chrome offers to save your password. You can turn this option off or on at any time.
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click Profile Passwords .
- Turn Offer to save passwords on or off.
Sign in to sites and apps automatically
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click Profile Passwords .
- If you can't find your Google account, learn how to turn on sync in Chrome.
- Turn on or turn off Auto sign-in.
Check your saved passwords
You can check all your saved passwords at once to find out if they are:
- Exposed in a data breach
- Potentially weak and easy to guess
To check your saved passwords:
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top, click More Settings.
- Select Passwords Check passwords.
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Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.
The Chamber Board of Directors is comprised of 8 to 13 elected individuals who serve for a three-year term of office. The Board is organized by committee, with each committee assuming overall responsibility for the events sponsored by the Chamber. Planning Committees are established for:
Other committees include the Ambassador Committee and the Administrative / Finance Committee. All Board positions are volunteer positions, all working together with the goal of making Barron a better place to live and work.
The chairing function of the Board meetings is rotated among the Board members.
Administrative support is provided by the Chamber President, Melissa Gillett, who can be reached at 715-651-8355.


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Werner Herzog Doesn't Want You to Text And Drive
Texting and driving kills more teenagers than driving and driving
Werner Herzog is a powerhouse of film. In a career that has extended past half a century, says the Guardian, Herzog has produced films and documentaries about a vast array of subjects: "ecstatically devout pilgrims; prehistoric cave paintings; fast-talking American auctioneers; ski-jumpers; TV evangelists; Siberian trappers; the blind, deaf and dumb."
He has made more than 60 films, both fiction and documentaries, and, in total, they look like the life's work of several directors, yet all maintain the spirit of one man's view of this disparate planet. With their eye for the strangeness in the world, the unaccountable in human beings, these films can haunt you.
Now, Herzog has set his sights on a much-overlooked plight, one that seems simple or even silly on the surface, but becomes haunting and real through the eye of his lens. In his documentary, From One Second to the Next, Herzog takes on texting and driving. The new film, says the Atlantic, is "part of a campaign by AT&T to raise awareness" about texting and driving, a problem that now kills more teenagers than drinking and driving. The movie, says the Verge, is being sent to tens of thousands of high schools.
Though much different from some of his earlier work, such as On Death Row, a look a prisoners awaiting their deaths, Herzog's style carries through. The Guardian: "In the most disturbing Herzog films, human life is a beleaguered property, a flicker of consciousness sustained within an equally flimsy civilisation. The experience of being a child of the ruins in Germany after the second world war perhaps injected him with this sense, living as he did in the moral and physical collapse of a culture."
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Putting on a show in a very big way
07/08/2013 01:55PM ● By RandyThe score for 'Annie Get Your Gun.'
By John Chambless
Staff Writer
The Brandywiners don't do anything halfway.
When "Annie Get Your Gun" opens at Longwood Gardens on July 25, audiences know they'll get 70 brightly costumed actors, a full orchestra and old-fashioned, Broadway-scale spectacle. Getting to that point every summer, though, takes plenty of work.
In late May, director Henry Porreca was at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wilmington, where the Brandywiners rehearse every spring. It was early in the rehearsal process, but the pace was intense. Choreographer Tammy Paulino was leading the ensemble members through the first steps of the opening number, "There's No Business Like Show Business," and Porreca was pacing on the sidelines, jumping in when actors had to enter or exit, pointing out where they should stand. This is his sixth Brandywiners production as assistant director or director, and he was working without written notes in his script. The movement of the actors was all in his head.
"The Brandywiners have never done this show before," he said. "It's not a typical Brandywiners show. This one doesn't have a lot of chorus in it. But the chorus work is excellent because they put all this harmony in there It's the best sound I ever heard."
This version of "Annie Get Your Gun" is the revised edition, done in the 1990s. The 1946 original's condescending treatment of Native Americans has been jettisoned, for instance, and there's a faster, funnier tone to the show. Since everything is presented as a show-within-a-show, set changes are done in full lighting, with wheeled set pieces that can be quickly moved on and off Longwood's huge stage.
For Porreca, working outdoors in the historic ampitheater is both a challenge and a delight.
Among the challenges, there are two lighting towers, and there are side lights, but there's nothing overhead. "And there's not much room backstage," Porreca said. The entrances from the wings are only 30 inches wide, so any set pieces have be built small enough to fit. Then there's the weather in July and early August, which can range from oppressive to stormy.
"It's hot backstage," Porreca said. "Downstairs [the dressing rooms are under the stage] is air conditioned, so you get downstairs as quickly as you can, get cool, go on up, do your scene and get back downstairs."
Just filling the stage, which is 62 feet wide and 34 feet deep, demands a huge cast. This year's show has about 70 actors and dancers, plus a full orchestra.
However, the natural beauty of the outdoor theater, which has been hosting shows since 1932, makes each show special, Porreca said.
"It's lovely. If you stand at the top of those steps and look out ver this sea of faces ... I've had the pleasure of performing there, and it's like, 'Hello! They're all here to hear me sing?'" Porreca said, laughing. "It's just wonderful out there."
Some of the challenges of "Annie Get Your Gun" have always been the many gunshots. There's quite a bit of trick shooting that has to be accomplished without using real guns. And the knife-throwing act, of course. And Porreca has added a few explosions, which required some special permission.
"There's no gunshots in this show," Porreca said. "We're doing it all with rimshots. So everything's faster, as opposed to a gunshot, where you've got to go reload, then get ready to shoot the next one. This one is bing-bang-boom. It's exciting. That's the way the comedy's written."
Everyone in the Brandywiners is a volunteer, except for the artistic staff and the orchestra. The love of putting on a show brings cast members back year after year, and audiences have responded. Funds raised through ticket sales are used to fund next year's show, and are shared with other area companies.
The schedule is pretty much non-stop, too. Porreca said that he and the cast will find out in July what next year's show will be. Rehearsals begin in May, and the whole process starts over again. Each show is created largely from scratch, since there's no place to store costumes and set pieces between productions.
As a director, Porreca is quick to credit music director Clint Williams and other members of the creative team. "If I see something and it hits me that it's wrong, I figure, 'Let's look at this.' Otherwise, my team is good, and I leave them alone," he said. "They're so good, the only one who can screw this show up is me."
"Annie Get Your Gun" will be staged at the Longwood Gardens Open Air Theatre in Kennett Square on July 25, 26, 27, Aug. 1, 2 and 3 at 8:30 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit www.brandywiners.org.


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Despite attempts in the right-wing media to smear 17-year-old Trayvon Martin with references to minor school disciplinary problems, the overall reaction across the United States has been outrage over his slaying and the lack of an arrest, what Sherwood Ross calls a positive change in a nation with a long history of racism.
By Sherwood Ross
The tragic killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, has provoked national outrage and is also the subject of a Justice Department probe. This is a far different response from the virulent racist America of a century ago, when white America and Washington were indifferent to such episodes.
The outrage sweeping the country today over the young man's slaying suggests something very important has changed for the better.
Back in the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was at the pinnacle of its sadistic influence, as many as 1,000 lynchings of black men took place in a typical year and any national outcries against them were muted. Klansmen could murder in cold blood and go to work the next morning as if nothing had happened.
White Americans, generally, did not get upset over lynchings. Ku Klux Klan members often held posts of influence in their communities, particularly in the South. The murdered blacks had few, if any, allies in the white communities. Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson were themselves racist.
Not far from where Trayvon Martin was shot down, some six decades earlier on Christmas Eve, 1951, the NAACP's Rev. Harry T. Moore and his wife were murdered by KKK dynamiters with a bomb planted under their bedroom.
I remember walking in a small, largely African-American protest march in Rev. Moore's memory the following New Year's Day through the streets of downtown Miami. Perhaps there were some sympathetic white onlookers, but I do not recall any.
Only four years later, though, the murder of 14-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, for allegedly whistling at a white woman, created huge street demonstrations on Chicago's South Side. Listening to the orators addressing the crowds, I had the welcome feeling the black community, at the least, was not going to stand for it any more.
Too many African-American veterans from World War II were asking, "What did we fight for to be treated this way?" The outrage was fierce as Till's killers were acquitted of his torture and murder. Till's Mother insisted on an open casket funeral so the public could witness how the killers had brutalized her son. Protected by laws against double jeopardy, after their acquittal, the killers casually admitted their guilt and walked free.
It has been said that Till's murder was the spark that ignited the civil rights movement. In that struggle, still unfinished, the introduction of the non-violent response by Rev. Martin Luther King created vast sympathy for oppressed black citizens.
The Montgomery bus boycott impressed the nation with their courage and determination and their struggle for equal rights and opportunities. By 1963, the climate had so changed that King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial generated an overwhelming positive national response.
Following this remarkable address, the civil rights cause accelerated rapidly. The continued sacrifices of both blacks and whites alike had put a large segment of America's white population on the side of social justice.
In June, 1966, when James Meredith was shot and wounded in Mississippi, the shooter was apprehended within minutes by the local sheriff and put on trial and convicted an outcome that would have been unthinkable a decade earlier.
The day after the shooting, in my capacity as Meredith's press coordinator, I told an NBC "Today Show" audience that his several companions planned to finish his March Against Fear, and invited people of good will to join us. Thousands from all races responded over the next few weeks so that the renewed march became, literally, a turning point and victory celebration over Jim Crow in Mississippi. (Meredith recovered sufficiently from his wounds to rejoin the march as well.)
Voting rolls were opened to blacks and we received the support of many white Mississippi residents who had been waiting for an opportunity to step forward and speak up for racial equality but had been afraid to do so.
In spite of all the civil rights movement has achieved, a descriptive term that can still be applied to black communities today, unfortunately, remains "plight." The statistics on black-white disparities in income, housing, justice and education remain profound.
Administration after administration, including the present one, has failed to make amends for what is now four centuries of historic racism. Trayvon Martin's death should serve to remind us of the long road that has already been traveled just as it informs us of how far we as a nation have to go.
Sherwood Ross is a Miami-based public relations consultant who was news director for a major civil rights organization in the Sixties and press coordinator for James Meredith's March Against Fear in Mississippi in 1966. Reach him at sherwoodross10@ gmail.com


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This article is more than 1 year old
Otellini: 'Intel won't build ARM chips'
It's all about the lean, mean green
If there were any lingering questions as to whether Intel would use its 22-nanometer Tri-Gate process technology to bake chips based on the ARM architecture, the company's CEO has put them to rest.
"The short answer is 'No'," Paul Otellini told his audience at Intel's Investor Meeting 2011 in Santa Clara on Tuesday in response to a question about whether his company would take advantage of its latest chip-baking technology to enter the ARM-dominated ecosystem of smartphones and tablets.
Otellini's reasoning was straightforward: there's more money to be made sticking with Intel architecture.
"We have an ARM license, an ARM architecture license," he reminded the gathered investors and reporters. "But the important thing for us is to figure out how to get paid and how to be present. And we think the best way to be paid and present ... is to build best-of-class chips."
He also offered the opinion that the compute core of a mobile system-on-chip (SoC) isn't the driver of power and performance considerations. "It's really not the core, the architectural core that makes the difference here," he said. "It's the stuff you put around it, the other power management features and things."
ARM, from Otellini's point of view, doesn't offer enough advantages for Intel jump into the ARM ecosystem. "The [Intel architecture] versus ARM – there's no power penalty that we've made. In fact, the size of the core is really quite trivial compared to the SoCs we're building nowadays."
It all boils down to profits. "There's no advantage to going in there. We'd be beholden to someone else, we'd be beholden to ARM, we'd pay royalties to them, so it'd lower the overall profits," he said.
"I think we could do a better job if we build out this continuum on IA," he said, referring to Intel's grand scheme of dominating every phase of computing, from the smartphone in your pocket to the data center in the cloud which is feeding that smartphone.
Otellini emphasized Intel's position in that continuum during his keynote, when he rhetorically asked his audience if they could name the silicon vendor who was making the most profit from the smartphone revolution. His answer: "Intel."
What he was referring to was not the silicon in the smartphones themselves, but in the data centers that are serving them. According to Otellini, one server is required for every 600 smartphones or 120 tablets. And since Intel and its Xeon processors rule the server roost, as he put it, "the money is in the infrastructure."
That said, Otellini remains confident that his low-power chips would be "very successful" in the smartphone market – but he was careful to qualify that message by reiterating that Intel's march into smartphones won't begin until next year.
But will Intel crack its way into those smartphone cases with an ARM-cored SoC? "The short answer is 'No'," Otellini repeated. "We have no intention to use our license again to build ARM." ®


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[bctt tweet="Bami, founder of Bam Bam Boogie has created a global operation from a 'side hustle'" username="SheLeadsAfrica"]
Imagine working at Google and trailblazing your very own dance fitness sensation. That's what founder of Bam Bam Boogie, Bami is doing.
In less than a year, this Google marketing specialist and fitness entrepreneur has run fitness classes in Brazil, London, Vegas, Texas, Toronto, and Dublin. Talk about major multi-tasking and creating a global operation from a 'side hustle'.
SLA contributor Abiola caught up with Bami to find out just how the heck she has achieved all of this in such a short space of time, and how this is only just the beginning.
Tell us about Bam Bam Boogie (BBB) and how you got started
Bam Bam Boogie is an Afro-Caribbean-inspired dance workout that pairs traditional fitness movements with authentic Afro-Caribbean dance styles to the beat of contemporary afrobeats, dancehall, reggaeton, soca, and hip-hop. We foster an environment of diversity and inclusivity: anyone and everyone is welcome at Bam Bam Boogie.
It all started following a rough time I was going through at the end of 2015. I'd just returned to the UK after my first ever trip back to my 'homeland' Nigeria, and although it was an amazing experience, I had a strong sense of emptiness. While 'going back' helped me see where I came from, there was still something missing and I couldn't work out what. Something felt like it just didn't fit. So after some soul-searching, and that took the form of working out. But being at the gym was so mundane, and it felt like you needed to look a certain way to fit in.
And that's how BBB was born. I wanted to create a space where people who may not feel 100% confident in the gym, can workout, be free and have fun while doing it. So that's what I did, and very quickly, it became the most popular Googler-led class at my work gym. (Googler is Google-speak for someone who works at the firm!).
[bctt tweet="Afro-Caribbean dance at Google? Find out how this woman makes it all work #TeamBoogie" username="SheLeadsAfrica"]
How did you get your firm to support the BBB movement, and keep supporting it even a year later?
We started as a diversity initiative to generate awareness, celebrate cultures and break down stereotypes in the workplace. That was our USP and it helped me to get buy-in and continued support from my firm. I only had to convince a handful of important people and from there the news spread like wildfire. There's nothing like word of mouth. Very soon other teams and managers were asking for Bam Bam Boogie conferences and team events!
It's a fun and easily accessible way to start an important conversation and I think that's why the firm is so supportive. It strongly reflects their "bring your whole self to work" perspective.
What have been the highlights in taking BBB from some classes in Ireland to around the world?
It's always amazing when I take BBB to other countries and people find out that I live in Ireland. They look puzzled, first they think, 'where is that?' and second, 'there are African people there?' It makes me proud to be able to represent the diaspora through BBB.
I loved taking the class to Toronto because that's where I grew up and become heavily involved in Afro-Carribean culture. Everyone back home was super proud and supporting, and #TeamBoogie Toronto wish they could do classes weekly! I also loved doing it in Vegas because – it's Vegas right? Everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so I guess that's all I can say about that workshop!
Finally, Sao Paulo was a major highlight because it was my first time in Brazil. The energy was amazing Brazilians can really move – they even taught me a move or two! I loved explaining the concept to Afro-Brazilians because they were so impressed to see someone who looked like them bringing their passions to the corporate world and thriving in both aspects. It's a moment I'll never forget.
How do you get so many diverse collaborations and how have they helped your brand?
I've had the opportunity to work with lots of different growing brands around the world such as blktckt concept online magazine (USA), u-wantit.com (Nigeria), Organo (USA), Kemetic Knowledge (USA) and Put Power (Canada).
I've been able to do this mainly through my network and very open personality. Yes, BBB is a brand, but it is an extension of my personality. I have made this very clear from the start, so within the first 30 seconds of meeting someone, I have already told them about BBB. This helps a lot with word of mouth because it means I'll always be top of mind. I also I seek out opportunities for myself using social media. I'll search up relevant hashtags for example "#ukurbanwear" and I will slide into their DMs to see how we can add value to each other's brands. I like to support brands I believe in especially if they have an ethos that supports Afro-Caribbean Culture.
These collaborations have helped add credibility to my brand as when people see these interviews, blogs, and videos they get to see the entrepreneurial side of BBB. The fact that it's not just a dance fitness movement but a community used for empowerment and support.
How do you balance a high-powered corporate career with entrepreneurship?
[bctt tweet="Calculate how many hours you have in a day and break it up according to daily/weekly priorities. #productivity" username="SheLeadsAfrica"]
Balancing the two is never easy, and some weeks it feels like a 50/50 split in dedication, other times it feels like 110/110 and I'm burning out at both ends. But if you're passionate you just have to keep pushing. My top 3 tips would be:
- Calculate how many hours you have in a day and break it up according to daily/weekly priorities. For example, I know that from the second I wake up I have 16 hours in my day (8 for work hours, 2 for travel time, 3 for eating). That leaves me with 3 hours so then I assign myself a 3 hour task of 3 x 1 hour blocks throughout my day to get it done.
- Use your "spare time" to listen to relevant audiobooks. During my lunch and daily commutes I try my best to listen to an audiobook or podcast related to personal-development, whether it be the latest of #AskGaryVee Podcast or an Inspirational Audiobook. This gives you the drive and knowledge you need to get through the toughest of times.
- Share your passion with your peers but don't overshare. Let your colleagues know what you're up to so they can support you in your endeavours. Bear in mind that they are a key part of your network and will be understand when you can't make team events because you're working on something. But be careful not to overshare, though, because not everyone has the same entrepreneurial passion and they could find it overbearing.
What's most challenging about being an entrepreneur?
The most challenging thing and what most people won't tell you about is the loneliness. Because social media is so carefully curated to only show the glamorous parts of our lives, it's easy to forget the grit and elbow grease that it takes to make things a success.
There are periods of time where you need to isolate yourself from friends and family to get work done. I've missed out on countless social events and vacations in order to save money or work on a particular project that needed to be completed by the deadline. A wise woman once told me that "there is a price to pay for everything in life" and as an entrepreneur, you pay that price many times to make your vision a reality.
[bctt tweet="The most challenging thing and what most people won't tell you about is the loneliness." username="SheLeadsAfrica"]
What would you say to someone who has an idea but isn't sure where to start?
Do a bit of market research (but not too much that it demotivates you), the easiest way is to do this is to use your network to find someone who is in the industry you want to get into. Ask them relevant questions about their journey and any advice they would give their former self.
Listen attentively, take notes, set yourself one actionable goal from this meeting and achieve it within the next 7 days. It sounds cliche but "just do it". Let go of what people may think of you, 9/10 times they are just projecting their own fears onto you. You've got this!
If you'd like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Follow Bam Bam Boogie on Instagram and look out for an event in your city.


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House GOP Measure Blocks IRS on Political Groups
A GOP-controlled House committee unveiled legislation Tuesday to block the Internal Revenue Service from issuing new rules intended to rein in the use of tax-exempt groups for political campaigning.
The provision to stop the agency from placing restrictions on loosely regulated big-money political outfits such as GOP political guru Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS and the pro-Obama Priorities USA was added to a spending bill funding the IRS budget. The House Appropriations Committee unveiled the legislation on Tuesday.
The IRS had already signaled it would delay issuance of the rules after a preliminary outline released in November sparked 150,000 comments, many from angry conservatives and tea party groups who said they were harassed by the IRS after seeking tax exempt status. Delays announced last month were interpreted by advocates on both sides of the issue as a sign that the Treasury Department and the IRS were headed back to the drawing board.
The restrictions on the IRS came a few days after the agency admitted that it had lost a trove of emails to and from IRS executive Lois Lerner, who's at the center of the agency's tea party controversy.
Lerner headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. The IRS acknowledged last year that agents had improperly scrutinized applications by some conservative groups.
The IRS and the Treasury Department had said they wanted to prohibit groups from using "candidate-related political activity" like running ads, registering voters or distributing campaign literature as activities that qualify them to be tax-exempt "social welfare" organizations.
Under current rules, social welfare organizations may conduct some political work as long as it's not their main activity. The proposed new rules would block such things as running ads that "expressly advocate for a clearly identified political candidate or candidates of a political party" as fulfilling their tax-exempt mission. Ads that simply mention a politician to, for instance, urge him or her to vote a certain way couldn't be run 60 days before a general election or 30 days before a primary.
The rules also would limit voter drives and voter registration efforts and distribution of literature.
Congress passed a stand-alone measure to block the IRS from issuing the rules for a year. The Democratic-controlled Senate has ignored it.
Tuesday's legislation also would cut the IRS' budget by $1.5 billion below President Barack Obama's request, sending it to Bush administration levels.


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Serves 6 | Prep Time 20 minutes | Cook Time 20 minutes
• 8 ounces Eden Kamut Soba, or any Soba noodle
• 2 Tbsp Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced into half moons
• 1/2 tsp Eden Dried Basil
• 1 medium carrot, julienned
• 2 cups cauliflower, small florets
• 4 cups broccoli, small florets, peel stem and slice thin
• 2 cups Original Edensoy, Extra Original, or Unsweetened
• 2 tsp Eden Kuzu Root Starch, dissolved in 3 T. cold water
• 3/4 tsp Eden Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 cups organic diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 small red bell pepper, roasted over an open flame, peeled, seeded and diced
or 1 jar roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, minced for garnish
Cook soba as package directs, rinse, drain and set aside. Place the whole red pepper over a medium flame, directly on the burner, to roast. Roast, turning with tongs, until the skin of the pepper is completely charred. Place the pepper in a paper bag, seal shut and allow it to steam for 10 minutes, to loosen the skin. Peel or rub the skin from the pepper with your fingers. Gently rinse under cold water to remove any remaining charred residue. Remove the seeds from the pepper, rinse and dice the pepper.
Heat oil in a deep skillet, sauté onion, sea salt and basil for 1 minute. Add the cauliflower, and carrots. Sauté 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, broccoli stems and tomatoes. Sauté 1 minute. Add the Edensoy, cover and simmer over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, just until the broccoli is slightly crisp and bright green. Add the diluted kuzu, slowly, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute.
To serve, place soba on a platter and spoon the vegetables and sauce over the soba. Garnish with minced parsley and roasted pepper.
Per serving: 276 calories, 8g fat (24% calories from fat), 12g protein, 43g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 359mg sodium


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Preschool children ages birth to five who are residents of Lincoln County are eligible to participate.
If you are a parent/guardian of a child you are expected to:
Eight to ten weeks after your registration form has been received, books will begin arriving at your home and will continue until your child turns five or you move out of Lincoln County.
The purpose of smoke testing is to find potential points of inflow and infiltration in the wastewater system. Smoke testing can also help locate the following points of groundwater or surface water intrusion into the wastewater system, any cross connections between sanitary wastewater systems and storm drains, and defective sewer connections that could allow sewer gases into a building.
During smoke testing, field crews blow air and smoke into the wastewater system in the street and monitor where smoke escapes the system. The smoke under pressure will fill the main line as well as any connections and then follow the path of any leak to the ground surface, quickly revealing the source of the problem. For instance, if smoke permeates up through a yard, it indicates breaks in the sewer line. Only enough force to overcome atmospheric pressure is required, and smoke should escape from building roof vents.
Inflow and infiltration (I&I) are terms used to describe the ways that groundwater and stormwater enter into dedicated wastewater or sanitary sewer systems. Dedicated wastewater lines are designed to transport wastewater from sanitary fixtures inside your house or place of business to the wastewater treatment plant. Sanitary fixtures include:
Inflow is stormwater that enters into the sanitary wastewater system. Various sources contribute to inflow, including:
Stormwater should flow into the stormwater drainage system or allowed to soak into the ground and not cross into the wastewater pipe system.
Infiltration is groundwater that enters sanitary sewer systems through cracks and/or leaks in the sanitary sewer pipes. Cracks or leaks in sanitary sewer pipes or manholes may be caused by:
No. The "smoke" is not true smoke, but rather a mist containing a large percentage of atmospheric moisture that is highly visible at low concentrations. It will not harm your or your pet's health or leave a stain and will disappear rapidly without leaving an odor. Since any vapor can be an irritant, direct contact with the "smoke" may cause minor respiratory irritation in some people.


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- Autographed Card
- Relic Card
- Cut Signature
- Rip Card
- Printing Plate
- Book Card
Each box will also contain (1) Box Loader!
For the First Time Ever, Topps Issues Autographed Trading Cards of a
Former President in 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Set
NEW YORK (July 13, 2011) - The Topps Company, Inc. today announced that
its 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter product will include 200 limited edition
autographed cards of President George W. Bush, marking the first time a
United States President has signed an actual baseball card.
The limited edition autograph cards feature an image of President Bush
throwing out the first pitch at Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at
Yankee Stadium.
The special moment helped strengthen the American
people in the wake of 9/11.
Also included are ten special cards signed
in red ink, some with inscriptions next to the former president's
autograph, including "#43" and "U.S.A."
Autograph Cards:
THe Autograph Checklist Allen & Ginter collector's have been waiting for!
Framed Autographs:
Great competitors from around the world including the world of sports appear with their signatures.
Cut Signatures: ONE OF ONE!!
Featuring 20 political and historical figures with an authentic autograph penned by the subject. One of One!
Insert Cards: ALL NEW!
- NEW! Animals in Peril
- NEW! Portraits in Penultimacy
- NEW! World's Most Mysterious Figures
- NEW! Flora of the World - 1 per Box!
- NEW! Step Right Up!
- NEW! Uninvited Guests
- NEW! Floating Fortresses
- NEW! The Minds that made the future
- NEW! The Ascent of Man
- NEW! Hometown Heroes -
1 per Box!
-Baseball Highlight Sketches
BOX LOADERs - 1 per Box! HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
- ALL NEW! Box Loader! U.S. Oversized Relic Cabinet Box Loader - Oversized relic cabinet cards die-cut into state shapes with a relic indicative on the state, which when fit together form a map of the United States. Numbered to 50!
- Allen & Ginter N43 - 15 cards styled after the original N43 card, which was 3 1/4" and 2 7/8" in size!
- Allen & Ginter N43 Relics (10) - Hand Numbered to 25!
- Allen & Ginter N43 Autographs (10) - Hand Numbered to 15!
- Allen & Ginter N43 Autograph Relic (5) - Hand Numbered to 5!
- Cabinet Box Loader - 10 oversize cabinet cards featuring mini parallel cards showcasing 2 to 4 key subjects in an important 2010 Baseball highlight, or the founding of National Park.
These subjects are featured on mini-parallel cards on a larger 5 3/4" x 8" Cabinet Card.
- Cabinet Box Loader Relic - 10 show-stopping cards featuring an over-sized COMPLETE relic of a jersey nameplate or number.
Each is a ONE of ONE!
Continuity Program:
-NEW! 60th Anniversary
Sixty players past and present have signed these cards along with an additional inscription wishing Topps a "Happy 60th!"
All autographs and inscriptions are signed directly on each numbered to 60 card.
Three players' cards will be inserted into each baseball product throughout 2011.
Rip Cards: 1 Per Case! HOBBY EXCLUSIVE!
The popular numbered Rip Cards are back featuring 100 subjects on the exterior card.
Collectors have to decide to either keep this collectible card intact or rip it for a chance at:
- Allen & Ginter Originals - Actual Mini Portrait paintings of current diamond stars signed and numbered by artist Jeff Zachowski!
- Allen & Ginter Red Autographs - Autographed Mini Cards that are Hand numbered to 10!
- Allen & Ginter Mini Exclusives - 50 Mini Cards numbered 351-400 that can only be found in Rip Cards.
- Allen & Ginter Mini Wood Exclusives - A ONE of ONE wood parallel version of the cards featured above!
Base Cards: 350 subjects; 6 per pack
Includes Veteran, Rookie, and Legendary figures from baseball, Heroes from around the world, and notable public figures, on the renowned Allen & Ginter card design in the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" format!
- Baseball Veterans - 270 Pros
- Baseball Rookies - 30 Diamonds in the rough
- Historic Figures - 15 of the most memorable writers, inventors, artists, and politicians of all-time.
- World Champions - 35 of the highest achievers from across the universe.
Mini-Parallel Cards: 1 per pack (1 15/32" x 2 11/16")
- Allen & Ginter Wood Hobby Exclusive! (350) - Each is a one of one!
- Allen & Ginter Cloth Hobby Exclusive! - 150 cards from the base set framed and printed on cloth expressly designed for Ginter! - Numbered to 10!
- Allen & Ginter Bazooka - Numbered to 25!
- Allen & Ginter No Number - The base cards are featured without a card number. Each card is limited to 50!
- Allen & Ginter Black Border - A black border adorns these parallel cards.
- Allen & Ginter Back - Replica Allen and Ginter card back designs highlight this parallel set.
- Allen & Ginter Mini - The 350 cards from the base set.
Framed Printing Plates: Hobby Exclusive!
The four printing plates from all Allen & Ginter mini parallel cards, including the rip card mini-exclusives, framed to the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" size and ONE OF ONE!!
Relic Cards:
Framed Relic Cards:
Subjects including baseball players, other athletes, political figures, and competitors from all walks of life are shown with a relic.
Framed DNA Relic Cards:
Highlighting a political or historical figure, including: Washington, Poe, and Nixon, along with a piece of their hair! One of One!
Book Cards: ONE OF ONE! Hobby Exclusive!
Two autographs, two relics or an autograph and relic enhance these cards pairing baseball's biggest stars.
Non-Baseball Autographed Checklist:
Mullins - Paralympic Champion / World Record Holder
Ana Julaton - Women's Boxing Champion
Sorenstam - Women's Golf Champion
Burke - 2-Time Champion, Dancing with the Stars
Wellington - Champion Triathlete and Iron Man World Record Holder
Woolery - Game Show Host
Boulud - Award-Winning French Chef
Taurasi - Champion Women's Basketball Guard/Forward
Vitale - Basketball Broadcaster
Lysacek - Winter Games Men's Figure Skating Gold Medalist
Auriemma - Champion Women's College Basketball Coach
Guy Fieri - Food Network TV Star & Host of Minute to Win It
Mitts - Champion Women's Soccer Defender
Solo - Champion Women's Soccer Goalkeeper
Nantz - Sports Broadcaster
Jo Frost - Host of Supernanny
McEnroe - Men's Tennis Champion
Yamaguchi - Winter Games Figure Skating Gold Medalist
Petty - NASCAR Driver
Holtz - Champion College Football Coach & Broadcaster
Manny Pacquiao - World Champion Boxer
Marc Forgione - Restauranteur & Winner of The Next Iron Chef
Micky Ward - Champion Boxer & Subject of The Fighter
Lopez - Women's Golf Champion
Peter Gammons - Award-Winning Baseball Writer & Broadcaster
Street - Winter Games Alpine Skiing Gold Medalist
Ruettiger - College Football Player & Inspirational Speaker
Richards - Summer Games Track & Field Gold Medalist
Stan Lee - Founder of Marvel Comics
Bird - Champion Women's Basketball Guard
Howard - Champion Men's Soccer Goalkeeper
Timothy Shieff - Freerunning & Parkour Champion
Eric Jackson - Freestyle Kayaking Champion
LaMotta - Champion Boxer & Subject of Raging Bull
Wee Man - World's Smallest Stunt Man
Mat Hoffman - Champion of BMX Biking and Extreme Sports
Matt Guy - 2011 ACO World Championships "King of Cornhole" Tournament Winner
Dirk Hayhurst - Author of The Bullpen Gospels
Al Gore & Keith Olbermann
Ron Turcotte - Champion Race Horse Jockey
Larry Holmes - Champion Boxer
Rafer Johnson - Champion Decathlete
Shawn Michaels - Professional Wrestler
Angelo Dundee - Boxing Trainer and Cornerman
24 packs per box, 8 cards per pack


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Prepare yourself, this loss is going to invite some doomsday, trade-everybody overreactions.
1 – Game #9 started out much different than it ended, with a decent first period from the Leafs. Kadri, Frattin and Komarov are the only thing going for this team offensively at the moment. He's got a lot of fans on this site, but it's worth repeating anyways: Komarov has had a big impact despite being pointless. He covers a ridiculous amount of ice; they send him in as usually the lone forechecker and he does enough for two. Kadri and Frattin scored off a rush play, but just a shift or two of theirs earlier, Komarov nearly set the stage for a goal by applying pressure behind the net and causing a turnover for Kadri to hop on.
2 – A good start erased: Skinner beats out an icing and Holzer makes the decision to join Liles in the corner, with Grabovski and Kulemin arriving to support down low. Two defencemen in the corner often means someone's open out front, and sure enough there was – Jordan Staal gets his first and it's 1-1.
2b – For a good skater, Liles got edged out on two icing calls, one that contributed to a goal against and another that very well could have a little later on with the fourth line on the ice. Don't get me wrong, Skinner (who beat Liles on the play that led to the Jordan Staal goal) is an amazing skater, but Liles was in position if he used his body positioning to his advantage and battled harder.
3 – Late in the 2nd it looked like the first line had finally gotten some overdue luck around the net. Bozak wins the draw and does the right thing, driving straight to the net. Kostka fires it low and hard at the net and the puck takes a bounce off Bozak's skate and in. It's ruled a kicked-in no-goal upon further review. Tough call. A few reviews of the player later, I can't objectively make the case it wasn't the right call. While it might have been in the course of Bozak stopping, the job of the war room in that situation is not to judge his intentions, it's to determine whether or not there was a clear kicking motion. Bozak's leg does swing through, so I'd say there was.
4 – This one starts going off the rails late in the second after a penalty on Jay McClement for snowing the goalie. Another questionable call, but one the Leafs have benefited from in the past (Pleckanec penalty vs. Montreal), and the reality of a silly new rule we must accept. On the ensuing PK, the Leafs lose a battle on the boards and Phaneuf steps up into the high slot with Komarov caught out of position after the lost board battle. The puck goes down low to Eric Staal in open space beside the net, Staal step outs in front to throw a pass across the crease, it takes a bad bounce off Kostka's skate and it's in the back of the net.
5 – It all goes downhill from there. Kostka gets flat out torched by Skinner (big mismatch in speed there) and takes a tripping penalty that really should've been a penalty shot. Holzer also gets burnt just outside his own blueline and throws out his knee to take down Tlusty shortly thereafter. The Canes capitalize on the 5 on 3 – imagine that – in the early third.
6 – Franson continues to conflict the hell out of me. Again, I like his game offensively, but he's so mistake prone in his own zone (see goal #4).
7 – McClement is too useful to be playing with Orr and McLaren. I wouldn't drop down Komarov to that fourth unit, but I would think about giving Ryan Hamilton more of a look if McClement is staying down there now that MacArthur is back.
8 – As for the PP, I'm just going to send you over to Anthony's analysis from earlier today, because not a whole lot changed in this one. Carlyle, or Greg Cronin if he's calling the players' numbers for the PP personnel, is either stubborn as hell or much more patient than I.
9 – Damien Cox said at intermission that the Leafs appear to be a three line team, when in the past they've been a one or two line team, and how that's a good sign for Carlyle's group. On paper I'd agree, but they've yet to produce like one. The Lupul injury, of course, hurts big time. I think Carlyle has to shake it up here in an attempt to get Kessel going. Give him someone (Grabovski?) who can take some of the pressure off of #81 always having to carry his line. Kessel for his part needs to drive the puck more off the rush. Twice tonight he had gathered blazing pace off the rush only to pull up and get stripped of the puck. Defenders are expecting him to try to back them off and throw on the breaks; he's got to keep them honest, drive it to the net and hope something goes in for him.
10 – The pressure is only going to get heavier as the Leafs lose games and struggle to score. Carlyle has to do what he can to get Kessel scoring, for the player's sanity and if the team is to going to get the offense they need to win a respectable number of games. I don't think you can worry about breaking up this line or that line right now. The lone exception might be the Kadri line with the chemistry Kadri and Frattin are showing. I could be overreacting – Cam Ward was excellent in this one.
10b – That's 1-4 at home this season so far and an embarrassing thirteen regulation or overtime/shootout losses in their last 15 at home. Playing slump breakers for visiting players and giving Ontario boys a nice return home (in tonight's case, both in one) has become all too common at the ACC and this team isn't surprising anybody fast until it can make home ice advantage count.


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Charlotte Brown used her seeing-eye dog to navigate the track. An electronic beeper with a high-pitched signal told her when it was time to jump.
About 90 minutes later, the blind pole vaulter had cleared three heights, soaring 11 feet to earn a tie for fourth place at the Texas high school state championships Friday.
Brown, who finished eighth a year ago, received a standing ovation at the University of Texas track, but fell just short of a medal.
And that made it a mixed afternoon for an athlete who has overcome great adversity to rank among the best in the state in such a physically demanding event.
Brown was clearly proud of her improved finish, but there was a hint of disappointment in the 16-year-old junior who believes she can earn a state championship medal.
"The main goal is to win," Brown said. "Today wasn't my best day jumping. ... I moved up four places. Hopefully, I can move up four places next year and win it."
Brown qualified for the state meet at a height of 11 feet, 3 inches. That tied for third best among the nine competitors in Class 3A, the state's mid-sized schools. She breezed through her first three vaults, clearing 10-0, 10-6 and 11-0 on her first attempt at each height. A year ago, Brown cleared 10-6 before she was knocked out.
The latest news from around North Texas.
Her trouble came at 11-6, with her twice hitting the bar on her way up. When she finally fell to the mat after he third miss, she stood with slumped shoulders. But she drew a standing ovation by several hundred people in the corner of stadium by the vault pit.
"I wanted to go higher, but to be cheered like that pretty cool," she said.
Kally Long, who won the event at 13-2 to defend her state title, was impressed by Brown's improvement from a year ago.
"The fact she fights so hard for everything she wants, it was awesome to see her do better than last year," Long said.
Brown lives in rural Emory, a town of 1,200 about 65 miles east of Dallas. She was born with normal vision but developed cataracts when she was 16 weeks old. That led to the first of several operations, including insertion of artificial lenses. Her vision stabilized until she was about 11 when it started to worsen.
In 2013, Brown still had pinhole vision but couldn't see color or distinguish shape from shadow. Now she says she's completely blind.
Brown vaults with a combination of fearless abandon and meticulous attention to detail. She counts the seven steps of her left foot on her approach and when she picks up the sound of the beeper placed on the mat, it's time to plant the pole and push up.
Her seeing-eye dog, Darth Vader, sat behind the jumpers on the track and waited for her to finish.
Twice on Friday she delayed jumps when the booming public address announcer introduced medal winners or competitors. Brown waited him out and meet officials eventually asked for quiet.
The beeper was a recent innovation that was needed as her vision became worse. Brown, however, is optimistic that because her sight is now completely gone, she'll be a better vaulter because she won't have to constantly adjust to new training methods.
"I guess people think it's frustrating to have to change all the time, but that's what life is, it's changing all the time," Brown said.
"When I lost the rest of my vision, I just thought of it as another chance to overcome something. ... The bright side is, I'm already totally blind. I don't have to figure out another way to vault. I can't get any blinder. What I figure out now will work the rest of my vaulting career."


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4 Under-the-Radar Daily Fantasy Baseball Plays for 5/2/17
If you've played daily fantasy sports for a while, you realize by now the importance of being contrarian, especially in large-field tournaments. Recognizing which players are going to be owned by the majority of the field and finding players who you think have a similar point projection but will come at much lower ownership can really separate yourself from your opponents.
The purpose of this article is to bring you some high-risk, high-reward players who will likely go overlooked and can give you an edge.


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Abby's Guide
Snow Blowers
Product Reviews
> Ariens Ariens ST 8526LE - 932105
Product Reviews for Ariens ST 8526LE
Ariens ST 8526LE
Model No:
(Based on 4 reviews)
Avg. Price: $850
1 - 4 of 4
View as Outline
A quality machine
Dec 9, 2006 1:53 pm
Joined: Dec 19, 2004
I have a 1128DLE and loved it so much that I bought The 8526LE for my Dad and Sister.
The machine has drift cutters that are standard for this unit which is nice. Being used to the pro differential, I wished it had one as it is hard to maneuver with both wheels locked and it is a pain to bend over to lock and unlock.
It throws snow plenty far and cuts through EOD nicely. The newer larger gearbox is an improvement over earlier models.
I use the machine to cut through 18 inches of
snow for about 150 feet to clear out an area for a burn barrel. No problems going up a slight upgrade until the steep part. Chains would have helped but I remedied the problem by backing up
where I just cleared and used gravity to overcome
the 15 degree grade.
Date Purchased:
Price Paid:
Quality steel unit. Highly recommended. For the money, it is an excellent machine.
Needed lock and unlock trigger for wheels.
A great machine that is worth it's price
Feb 12, 2006 9:55 pm
Joined: Mar 12, 2005
Well the new machine got LOTS of use today! I put it to the test with lots of EOD heavy wet stuff. At least 10 houses and they were all done twice. We got aprox 15 inches of snow but with 50 MPH winds, we had some deeeep drifts! The engine runs wonderful...starts with ease. I used the electric start for the first start and the pull cord for every other start. The machine also feels very well built but there is a bit of flex in the handle bars.
Over all
9 out of 10
Brian Chang
Date Purchased:
Price Paid:
Powerful and really will throw snow 40 feet!
Seeing your neighbors struggle with lesser machines!!!!
I like being able to take both hands off the machine and it still runs. (My old Ariens had a safety lever)
The tires provide extreme traction (see below for the other side)
Engine starts on first pull as long as you use the choke
That little shovel thing is great. I used it at least 3 times.
Reverse is so slow that it is useless! So I had the push down on the bars and pull it back. (I now have a killer backache!)
The tires have so much grip that it makes turning VERY hard. I prefer Ariens old tires...it is not like I ever got stuck with em!
My right wrist/hand is tired from squeezing the auger lever.
I guess having the throttle on the dash would be nice.
ST8526LE Purchased 10/2004 from Home Depot
Jan 27, 2005 12:43 pm
Joined: Jan 26, 2005
Purchased this in the crate from Home Depot as I prefer to set it up myself and do the initial run in, check oil, etc. The materials used in the unit are top notch, strong metal everywhere and all the controls operate smooth. Set up was a snap, just unfold the handle bars, and screw the chute into place, pop on a couple clips. After initial run-in the cables needed a tiny bit of adjustment but the belts were nearly perfect. They will most likely need adjustment after some more use. Our first big storm here was a 2 foot blizzard, the unit throws snow far and the remote deflector control and chute crank are excellent when you only have a small space to put the snow like me. I did have to tighten up both the deflector and rotation nuts to stop the chute from moving on its own, but that's expected. To keep the deflector from moving under heavy snow load, you do have to make the control pretty tight, but that allows for minor adjustments by tapping the control with your hand, which turns out to work really well for me since I have to be somewhat "precise" on where I'm throwing.
The engine has plenty of power and shoved even the heavy icy end of driveway snow plenty far, even when the chute was turned against the impeller rotation. The serrated auger helps break up this chunky snow too. Pulls start on the first pull even in 0 degree weather (my power in the garage went out).
The wheels have good traction due to the new deeper narrower design, they break free occasionally but I don't see a need for chains (not supposed to use them on these new ones anyway). With both wheels locked, it is a bit tough to turn but the traction is well worth it. When on flat surfaces with a single wheel engaged it goes very well and is much easier to turn, but I leave both engaged to get the better traction and you just get used to tricks to steering it this way.
The one big issue I have with this unit is the factory assembly, I ran into several issues, first with one of the bolts holding the shoes being stripped out, then with a missing cotter pin that caused the drive control to fall apart and required disassembly to fix and some excess wear, a missing bolt, a loose electrical connection, and some other things that were missed, and would suggest a rushed assembly. I feel few or none of these things would have been found by a dealer assembling the unit, they were issues with the factory assembly and in the case of the cotter pin, internal and hidden.
Overall an extremely solid unit that I am confident won't break or give out for a long time. My one suggestion would be to do a very thorough inspection including removing the bottom cover if you can. I hope Ariens works to remedy their QC problems soon as they have great products
Date Purchased:
Price Paid:
-Solid unit, strong, great design
-Plenty of power, this "midrange" unit handled 4 foot drifts and 2 feet of end of driveway snow with ease.
-Remote chute rotation and angle controls are a godsend.
-Support very helpful and responsive
Factory assembly needs better QA or more experienced workers, as there are numerous flaws and missed items being reported by many people, in my case it was a small part missing that caused a major malfunction. Ariens support however was very responsive in helping to resolve the issues.
Ariens ST 8526LE Model 932105
Jan 24, 2005 10:30 am
Joined: Dec 12, 2004
8.5 HP Teucmseh runs great, easy starting and strong. Snowblower does fantastic job of throwing snow. Chute has convenient and easy controls. I ran it into some substantial huge drifts and, as long as the chute had an open space to throw it, it blew right through them. This snowblowers performance exceeded my expectations, but handling is less than desirable.
Date Purchased:
Price Paid:
Throws snow considerable distance, easy starting, convenient chute controls, all steel construction, weighs almost 300 pounds and drove through 48" snow drifts without hesitation. Didn't think it would be, but the lights been handy.
Very, very hard to turn with both wheels pinned in place for traction, pulls to one side if only one wheel is engaged by the pin drive system and requires considerable strength to run straight. A machine this size really needs a differental.
It would also benefit by a throttle control within easy reach for both engine shutdown and as an engine speed control. I find the throttle control difficult to use with mittened hands, and icing on the control has been a problem between uses when I've parked outside during a storm.
"Snow Hog" tires would also benefit by tire chains. I find it won't climb onto a 3" curb without a good shove and a bounce. My old Ariens climbed right on with chains and smaller tires.
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Take 42


text: No. Unlike with 401(k)s and 403(b)s, the IRS won't slap you with a penalty on withdrawals you make before age 59 ďż˝. You will, however, owe income tax on all withdrawals, regardless of your age. So busting into a 457 plan early still isn't a good idea. Leaving the money to compound until you're ready to retire will leave you with a much bigger nest egg.


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Related links:
A Perfect Place for Penguins!
News story originally written on October 10, 2003
Scientists have been studying special places of the chilly ocean near Antarctica. They found that these places are favorite spots for thousands of penguins!
Much of the ocean near Antarctica is covered with ice, but these special areas are not. That's what makes them special! Without a cover of ice, sunlight can hit the ocean water. This causes tiny floating algae called phytoplankton to grow and reproduce.
A tiny, shrimp-like animal called krill eats the phytoplankton. Since there is so much phytoplankton, the little krill munch away and reproduce until there are tons of them. Penguins like to eat the krill. So, where there are many krill, there are also many penguins!
These special places in the ocean are impossible to see from ships because they are surrounded by ice. So, to study them, scientists used two satellites. The satellites looked at the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean water. Where they found lots of phytoplankton, krill and penguins were living there too!


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with Kam Williams
Two-Time Oscar-Nominee Talks about His Latest Offering
Lee Daniels is best known for directing and producing the Academy Award-winning film Precious which was nominated for a half-dozen Oscars in 2010, including histwo for Best Picture and Best Director. Mo'Nique won for Best Supporting Actress while scriptwriter Geoffrey Fletcher landed another for Best Adapted Screenplay
Lee's production company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, made its feature film debut in 2001 with Monster's Ball, the dysfunctional family drama for which Halle Berry would earn her historic, Best Actress Oscar. Last year, he wrote, produced and directed The Paperboy, an adaptation of the Pete Dexter novel starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, and Nicole Kidman.
Here, he talks about his new picture, The Butler, a civil rights epic recounting the real-life story of an African-American who served in the White House at the pleasure of eight presidents, from 1952 to 1986.
Kam Williams: Hey Lee, what a phenomenal film!
Lee Daniels: Did you like it?
KW: I loved it!
LD: Thanks, Kam.
KW: I was born in the Fifties so all of the ground you cover in terms of the father-son relationship and the Civil Rights Movement resonated with me and touched me very deeply.
LD: That makes me feel good. Thank you very much.
KW: So, what inspired you to make the movie?
LD: What attracted me to the project was the father-son story which I looked at as a love story with the Civil Rights Movement as a backdrop. That was intriguing to me both because I'd had issues with my own dad, and because I have issues with my teenage son. I think the father-son love story is a universal one which transcends color. That's what was sort of there on the page, but it wasn't until I started shooting that we began getting into the Woolworth's sit-ins and the Freedom Riders with the Molotov cocktails that I asked myself, "What have I stumbled upon?" It was then that I realized the film was much bigger than just the father-son story.
KW: Did you decide to tackle the civil rights material because of the Trayvon Martin shooting?
LD: No, it hadn't happened when Danny Strong wrote the script, including the line "Any white man can kill any of us at any time and get away with it."
KW: You got Oscar-winners in Forest Whitaker, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams and Melissa Leo, and Oscar-nominees in Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey to come aboard. How were you able to assemble such an outstanding cast?
LD: My usual way… throwing out a net, and fishing. [LOL] This one was easy because the material was so good. The actors I approached took the bait because they wanted to serve the material. We really didn't have any money to pay them, so most of them lost money in relation to what their normal acting fee would be.
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: How has the tempest over re-using the title The Butler affected you?
LD: Well, I just finished editing the movie five days ago. When did you see it, Kam?
KW: Earlier today.
LD: Well, I'm not sure which version you saw. Anyway, when I'm working on a movie, it's like being in a cocoon. I considerate it like giving birth, and I don't leave the bubble, because if I do, then it's bad and affects the child. But I was pulled out for a minute when my kids told me about something they saw online. I didn't even hear about it from the studio. It disturbed me, but I didn't have time to think about it.
KW: Well, it's now called Lee Daniels' The Butler.
LD: The MPAA [Motion Pictures Association of America] gave me that title and I still don't know how to feel about it. I just finished giving birth to the movie. "Lee Daniels' The Butler!" It sounds like "The Greatest Show on Earth!"
KW: Well Tyler Perry, Dino De Laurentis and others are famous for placing their names before the title?
LD: I'm not Tyler Perry. I'm not Dino De Laurentis. I think it's a bit much to put one's name in front of the film. It makes me uncomfortable. Here's the thing. Insiders like you know the whole story and about the legal issues, but not the average person. I worry that young kids in Oklahoma or Alabama might end up asking, "Who is this filmmaker to be so full of himself?" That bothers me. The MPAA handed down this edict. So, I don't know how I feel about it right now. Ask me tomorrow. [Chuckles]
KW: My eyes must have welled up at least a half-dozen times while watching the film. As the director, you must be too close to the film for it to have that sort of emotional effect on you.
LD: No, when I actually sat down all alone to watch the final cut just for pleasure, I broke down in tears.
KW: You did a masterful job of portraying the tensions and differences between the Civil Rights and Black Power Generations.
LD: There was no right and wrong. Cecil [played by Forest Whitaker] was right and so was his son [played by David Oyelowo]. You've got a problem when neither is wrong, yet you have a conflict.
KW: I also appreciated the evenhanded way in which you approached each of the presidents Cecil served under, like how Reagan could give his African-American help a raise to make their pay equal to that of whites, while hypocritically still supporting Apartheid in South Africa.
LD: Ain't that interesting? We don't make Kennedy out to be a Goody Two-Shoes either.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier was wondering whether you've seen the TV miniseries Backstairs at the White House?
LD: I did. I think it was a great movie for its time, but I wanted to avoid the episodic feeling of that film.
KW: Patricia also asks: What message do you want the public to take away from The Butler?
LD: I hate that question, Patricia, because it forces me to be philosophical… I think the message is that we have got a long way to go. I hope that this film rips a scab off the sore that is racism in America today.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Lee, and best of luck with the film.
LD: Thanks, Kam.
To see a trailer for Lee Daniels' The Butler, visit: http://www.twcpublicity.com/video_popup.php?id=108


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2 February 2013 21:00 | to | 3 February 2013 03:00 |
2 February 2013 21:00 | to | 3 February 2013 03:00 |
The Serenissima Grand Ball.
Homage to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the opera "Don Giovanni"
Saturday the 2nd of February
Gala Dinner & Entertainment.
The Ball will be located on the first floor (the pianonobile) in an authentic 14th century Palace: Pesaro Papafava, With its precious gothic facade and its elegant quadriform gothic windows overlooking the canal of the Misericordia. The palace will be illuminated entirely with candlelights to create a memorable atmosphere.
The prestige and the genius of Mozart derive from the fact that it is spaced on all the musical kinds: from the chamber music to the symphony, from sacred music to opera.
Immersed in the enchanting atmosphere given by the soft light of candles, you will live the extraordinary experience of a great show with the most beautiful arias from the magical opera: Don Giovanni.
21.15: Elegant cocktail with live music.
21.45: Seated illuminated candle lights Gala Dinner wines included.
23.00: Performance of the most beautiful arias from the opera "Don Giovanni".
Midnight: Live music and dances.
Dress Code: costume and mask.
Cost: 355 € per person.
Do not hesitate to consult us for the rent of costumes
Our Atelier will be under your disposal for any assistance such as costumes, masks and accessories.
The Palace is reachable by 5 minutes walk from Ca D'Oro vaporetto stop: Calle Racchetta, Cannaregio 3764. Reachable also by its water door (in front of the Church of the Misericordia).
For further informations, contact our office:
Tel: +39 041 5201855, Tel: +39 041 7794559 Fax: +39 178 2263842 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com,


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Chicago-based artists Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero of Luftwerk have transformed Millennium Park into an interactive, choreographed light show titled Luminous Field. Colorful geometrical images set to music composed by Owen Clayton Condon of Third Coast Percussion illuminate "Cloud Gate", commonly known as "The Bean", and transform its surrounding plaza into a digital canvas. This site-specific video and sound installation is the first of its kind for Cloud Gate. Be sure to take part in this "immersive sculptural experience" before it concludes on February 20th. The spectacle begins each night at 6pm. Continue after the break for more images.
Images were provided by Milosh Kosanovich and Don Harder on Flickr, licensed through Creative Commons.
Reference: Explore Chicago, Colossal